"The EXPORT Center" grant will build the capacity for research, training and outreach to address health disparities in minority and rural underserved communities. The EXPORT Center will be administered through a collaborative partnership between Clemson University, a land grant institution, and Voorhees College, a historically black institution. The specific aims of the Center will be to: 1) strengthen and empower minority and rural underserved families and communities; 2) develop a collaborative inter-institutional partnership to support an infrastructure for research, training and outreach that addresses health disparities; 3) develop and implement interdisciplinary research models that address prevention and intervention in health disparities across the life span; 4) develop a sustainable, culturally appropriate model of "best practices" that engages minority and rural underserved communities to improve health outcomes; 5) increase the number of under-represented ethnic minority students and junior faculty in the health professions with knowledge and skills to address health disparities; and 6) facilitate the development of a cadre of culturally competent researchers with expertise in minority health disparities research. The Center's aims will be implemented through the four cores (administrative, research, training and outreach). Each core has specific aims to address the overall aims of the EXPORT Center. The partnership between Clemson University's College of Health, Education, and Human Development (HEHD) and Voorhees College Center of Excellence in Rural and Minority Health positions the EXPORT Center to address and respond to health disparities among rural minority populations. Major leadership from the College of HEHD comprises faculty from the School of Nursing and the Department of Public Health Sciences. Benefits to be gained from this partnership includes stronger linkages and partnership with the community; improved research infrastructure at Voorhees College; a curriculum that addresses health disparities; cultural sensitivity training; and a national Center that will be recognized as an authority on health disparities in minority and rural underserved communities.